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Comelec: Signal jammers should be registered


The Commission on Election (Comelec) is planning to have all signal-jamming devices in the country registered as part of its efforts to keep the May 10 automated elections free from any form of electronic disruption. “It is one of the measures that we will undertake to make sure that on election day, the jammers that we know about are accounted for," Comelec spokesman James Jimenez told reporters in an interview Tuesday. This came following reports that a shipment of around 5,000 units of jammers had been sneaked into the country. Jimenez, however, said they have yet to verify the reports with their sources. The Comelec will be using GSM network radio signals - the same kind used by cellular mobile phones for calls and SMS - to transmit the election results from the precinct to other servers on the May elections. Has lawful use A signal jammer is used to disrupt radio signals between cellular towers and mobile phones thus preventing the transmission of data. Placed near a handset, it can prevent the phone from getting a signal. Law enforcers use jammers to prevent terrorist attacks by jamming radio equipment used as triggers for improvised explosive devices. They are also used by theaters to prevent mobile calls from disrupting the show. “It is common knowledge that people do use these jammers for a variety of lawful applications. We can ask owners and operators of these jammers to register their devices before election day so that we know exactly where they are on election day and on what they will be used for," Jimenez said. He added that if the devices are illegal, they would have to ask the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to go after owners of the devices. In the United States and Europe, civilians are barred from selling and buying signal jammers. Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales earlier in the day said he has already assembled a team to coordinate with the Comelec and the NTC with regards to the reported shipment of jammers. The Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines – the technology that would be used in the upcoming elections – have already been having difficulties transmitting the needed data even without the signal jammers. Comelec, however, said it could always use satellite transmission or Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) for areas which have no available cellular signal. It earlier said that they have 5,000 BGANs at hand, with more on the way. - KBK, GMANews.TV

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